Another halfpenny token in the 'Political & Social' series of Middlesex involving Erskine, Gibbs, and Tooke.
At the general election of 1790, Horne Tooke came forward as a candidate for that distinguished constituency (PM for Westminster), in opposition to Fox and Lord Hood, but was defeated; and, at a second attempt in 1796, he was again at the bottom of the poll. In the meantime, the excesses of the French republicans had provoked reaction in England, and the Tory ministry adopted a policy of repression. He was arrested early on the morning of 16 May 1794, and conveyed to the Tower of London. His trial for high treason lasted for six days (17 to 22 November) and ended in his acquittal, the jury taking only eight minutes to settle their verdict